A LARGELY OVERWEIGHT MAN struggles down the stairs of The Moon Under Water boozer before heading straight for a kebab.
In the town square, Galloway’s Patisserie sells £2.90 meat and potato treats at a dizzying pace.
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Wigan, home of the World Pie Eating Championships, has been named the obesity capital of the UKCredit: PP.
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One delivery man admitted that he had three jobs from the same guy in one day Credits: PP.
This is Wigan – dubbed Britain’s obesity capital, where a staggering 70 per cent of its 329,321 residents are overweight.
Almost 40 percent of the population is classified as obese, and the city is full of kebab and pie shops, pizza takeaways and hamburger joints lined up next to each other.
Galloway’s manager Karen Smith admits: “A lot of the people who come into this store tend to be overweight. I think a lot of them don’t cook for themselves.
“We sell a lot of pies and cakes – they’re very popular.”
While one food delivery cyclist told The Sun: “Sometimes I delivered three meals to the same house in one day. They had a late breakfast at McDonald’s, then a pizza and a late night kebab.
“I remember a man answering the door in a T-shirt and pajamas smoking fag. It was like something out of a sitcom.”
The former milling and mining town is famous for its pies and the world famous Wigan Warriors rugby team.
A local delicacy is the pie barm – a pastry filled with meat in a buttered bun known as a Wigan kebab.
The residents have long been nicknamed “the pie eaters” and indeed, the World Pie Eating Championship is held at the local pub. So the locals are not surprised by the Greater Manchester city title for obesity.
Retired welder Robert Rimmer, 79, said: “You see people queuing for McDonald’s and kebabs and everything. The queues are out the door.
Video shows firefighters using a CRANE to get a morbidly obese woman out of her apartment… because she’s too big to walk out the door
“I just don’t know where they get the money from. It’s shocking. If they’re fat, they can always go on a diet. It’s common sense, that’s all.”
Engineer John Rogers, 31, said: “It actually starts with your parents. If you ate fruit and vegetables as a child, you’ll eat fruit and vegetables when you’re an adult.
“If you have a mother in the supermarket and she wants to buy fruit but she can’t afford it, then the kids are screaming about chocolate, what is she going to do?
“Obesity has been identified as a problem in Wigan, but it’s everywhere. Fast food is much cheaper than fruit and vegetables, while chocolate bars cost 50p.”
He added: “A lot of people get diabetes and there’s a lot of hospital admissions. Obesity is only a problem if people make it a problem. But it’s also a problem in places like Salford and Warrington.”
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Fast food outlets compete for the best dealsCredit: PP.
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Karen Smith says many of the people who come into the store she manages are overweight Credit: PP.
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The city’s football club, Wigan Athletic, celebrates the nickname with its mascot Crusty the PieCredits: PP.
The Wiganer Pie Eaters nickname comes from the 1926 General Strike when miners returned to work starving.
Residents of other towns said they were forced to eat “humble pie”, which gave rise to the nickname.
The city’s football club, Wigan Athletic, celebrates the nickname with its mascot Crusty the Pie.
His obesity problem does not shock district nurse Martha Finch, 67, who was shopping in the town, historically in Lancashire.
Sometimes I delivered three meals to the same house in one day
Deliverer
The mum-of-four said: “It doesn’t really surprise me. But I think it’s everywhere, not just in Wigan. I think it’s national. You see people eating takeaway but it’s mostly pies.
“We’re known for our pies here, but they’re good and there’s nothing wrong with them as long as they’re in moderation with fruit and vegetables. Friday is pie day for me.”
Retired factory worker Albert Howarth (82) did not want to criticize people because he also enjoys fast food.
He said: “I eat takeaway myself, but there needs to be more healthy eating.”
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People often line up to get their hands on some of the city’s world-famous pies Credits: PP.
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The World Pie Eating Championships are being held at a local pub in WiganCredit: PP
Leaving the pastry shop, a woman said, “I like pie, but there’s a lot of it here. I don’t like to cook, so it’s quick and easy.”
‘CHRONIC PROBLEM’
Weight problems in the city are linked to deprivation, ill health and poverty.
Life expectancy for men in Wigan is 77 years, almost two years less than the national average. Heart failure is one of the biggest killers in town.
Early death from cancer is also well above the national average, according to Public Health England.
Jane Pilkington, director of population health at NHS Greater Manchester, said: “There is an obesity epidemic in the UK at the moment. It has been building for at least 30 years. It is now a chronic problem.”
She added: “Our lives have become much more sedentary in the last three decades and we now have much greater availability of cheap, unhealthy food. We know obesity rates are twice as high between deprived and non-deprived areas.”
Writer George Orwell wrote about poverty in northern England in his 1937 book The Road to Wigan Pier, which shocked the nation.
Although residents said that there are still shocking scenes in the city.
Mum-of-two Sharon Hughes, 34, said: “There are a lot of people on benefits here. I know mums who are going without food so their children don’t go hungry.
“But I saw children in rags or I even saw some children walking barefoot in the street or going to school in tattered, old uniforms.
– That is very sad.
How to lose weight safely
Losing weight should be a long-term commitment to a healthier life, not any drastic measures.
NHS advice – which can be taken slowly – includes:
- Be active for 150 minutes a week – you can divide it into shorter sessions
- Aim to get your 5 a day – 80g of fresh, tinned or frozen fruit or veg counts as 1 serving
- Aim to lose 1 to 2 lbs, or 0.5 to 1 kg per week
- Read food labels – products with more green codes than amber and red are often a healthier option
- Replace sweet drinks with water – if you don’t like the taste, add slices of lemon or lime for flavor
- Cut down on foods that are high in sugar and fat – start by replacing sugary grains with whole grain alternatives
- Share your weight loss plan with someone you trust – they can motivate you when you’re having a bad day
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Last year a study found that fat people cost the NHS an extra £13.7bn a year. Treating an overweight adult costs £847 a year, compared with £638 for a person of a healthy weight, it said.
But some in Wigan are trying to turn the tide.
Nicola Kiggin is a consultant at Slimming World and teaches at Hindley Independent Methodist Church on the outskirts of the town.
Most people who join lose weight within the first week, with one member losing 16 pounds a week.
Mrs Kiggin said: “There’s no magic potion or pill, it’s just normal food, but it’s changing the way we cook and shop.” We don’t do anything special and just take things back to the basics. “
In Wigan, shoppers walk past a statue of one of the city’s icons.
As entertainer George Formby holds his famous ukelele, an obese customer smiles as he tucks into his Wigan kebab.
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Poverty and deprivation blamed for Wigan’s obesity problem Credit: PP.
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Heart failure is one of the leading causes of death in WiganCredit: PP
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education